Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is on his way to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
Kishida is expected to call on world leaders to put aside their differences and come together to enable the United Nations to function better as an organization.
Kishida told reporters before his departure that, "In this world with so many overlapping crises, we have to create a global community where we can work together... not one where there is confrontation or division."
Kishida will spend four days in New York. As well as addressing the General Assembly, he is expected to speak one-on-one with other leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kishida is also scheduled to attend a meeting of leaders from the UN Security Council member states to discuss the situation in Ukraine. He has maintained that no country should be allowed to use force to change the status quo.
Kishida wants to build momentum toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Japan, along with the Philippines and Australia, plans to host a meeting on a proposed treaty called the Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty. It is aimed at banning the production of materials needed to make nuclear weapons.